Williams opened Sharkey's Cuts for Kids in March at 3485 Erie Blvd. E. The 2,500-square-foot shop is the first Upstate New York location for the Westport, Conn.-based franchise.

Williams retired from her job as a controller in 2008, but her husband was still about 10 years away from leaving the workforce. She wanted to stay busy and spent some time training other controllers as a private contractor.

She eventually found herself craving a change.

"I wanted to do something fun and different. We started looking at franchises," she said. "I didn't want to do food. I saw this and was like, 'oh wow.' "

Williams and her husband Tom run the shop together.

The DeWitt Sharkey's is just past Kinne Road in space that formerly housed a DeWalt store.

The shop's chairs are designed to look like cars with working horns, radios and gas pedals. The themed seats feature Buzz Lightyear and Barbie, Williams said.

Stations for older children have 40-inch flat-screen TVs with access to Xbox and PlayStation games and movies from Netflix.

A lounge area aimed at tween girls has a Hollywood feel, Williams said. The stations' mirrors are surrounded by bright lighting and customers in that area sit in directors' chairs.

All haircuts include a balloon and a lollipop. Boys get a temporary tattoo or sticker and girls can get their nails painted.

Cuts range from $16.95 to $21.95. The salon is aimed at children up to age 14.

The girls then get to deck themselves out in Sharkey's collection of dress-up clothes and put on a fashion show. The location has already hosted eight parties.

Sharkey's got its start around 2000 after CEO Scott Sharkey sold a family business in bar code printing. He said he and his wife had been taking their 4-year-old to a children's salon in Manhattan and liked the concept.

After some research, they opened their first Sharkey's location in Greenwich, Conn,. around 2001 and within three years added two more in Connecticut and New York, Sharkey said. The company began franchising about eight years ago.

Sharkey's now has 40 locations in the U.S., Canada and Europe with commitments for more than 235 more salons worldwide, Sharkey said.

Despite all the fun stuff at the salon, some young customers still just can't stand the idea of a haircut. That part of the job is no fun for Williams.

"I feel awful," she said. "I'm tearing up because they're crying. But we've had success because of all the distractions."

The shop employs three stylists. Williams is looking for a fourth. She also has seven party hostesses.

Follow Store Front on Twitter @syrstorefront and sign up for the weekly Store Front newsletter. Contact Kevin Tampone at ktampone@syracuse.com or (315) 454-2112. Follow him on Twitter @ktampone.